You are going to be so inspired to read about how Tasha paid off $49,000 in two years!
Hi guys! It’s me, Tasha.
My Kentucky roots are urging me to say, “Hey y’all,” but I’m not sure if my northern friends could handle it. I’ve been budging in on Laura’s blog for a couple months now. I’m the one who feeds her kids a dry crust, likes to set goals, had an Amazon addiction, paid off all the debt and wants you to know that God really really loves you.
I can’t wait to share with you the wonderful things I’ve learned on this crazy Get-Out-Of-Debt journey! I’m going to start digging into how we paid off (for us) big debt with not-so-big income.
I’ve deleted nearly 10,000 words trying to get this out; you’re welcome. The problem is I keep getting distracted by all the things I want to tell you! I want to write the right story. I want you to hear what I’ve done here and see over the sea of words as I explain the sun to my son and teach him the joy of homophones. Sorry, what was I saying?
How Tasha Paid off $49,000 in Two Years on a Low Income!
No really. How did we live on half our income and give away $49,000 in two years? ($29,000 the first and $20,000 the second.)
- BY NOT GETTING DISTRACTED
- SETTING A GOAL AND STICKING TO IT
We decided what we wanted to do, we made a plan, we wrote it down, and we stuck to it. It was the theme of the year. For two years.
Deuteronomy 6:7-8 says, “Impress [the old covenant laws] on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
We were this intentional with our goal for financial freedom.
Ben and I lived and breathed financial freedom. “Ramsey says…” was perhaps the most used conversation starter at our dinner table. I was going to use the term, Laser Focus. But no, our focus was broad–it encompassed every facet of our lives for two years. We had floodlight intensity.
Our “drastic” first step was to cancel our internet service. Yes, Ben was taking online courses for his MA degree at the time.
As it turns out, the library has internet! For Free! Here’s the basic line-up of what we did:
Eating out? Nope. If we did it came out of the grocery budget. Yikes!
Groceries and Household? $200 a month, with $50 extra for buying All The Butter if it went on sale. Oatmeal was a staple. I could stretch a pound of beef for three meals, but mostly chicken was on the menu. Neighbors are always trying to offload extra garden zucchini and tomatoes. I didn’t buy blueberries. Cream cheese was a treat. I made use of Amazon Subscribe and Save to get 15% off many household items. Sometimes this may have actually cost $1 more than an off-brand at a store, but the time and gas it saved me was worth it. I read recently the average shopper spends $18 to $37 extra on impulse buys every time they go grocery shopping!
These three tagalongs did not eat much at the time.
Dates? One pre-planned show for a highly anticipated film. Many pre-planned home “dates” and free entertainment excursions.
Christmas? Saved $25 a month leading up to December to cover the special food and travel. Our two babies (4 yr and 2 yr) at the time enjoyed homemade gifts and were just as grateful.
Cell Phone? Just one.
Birthdays? Averaged $10. So many fun experiences!
Tithe to local church? YES. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.
Coffee Shop? $2 once a month when I met with friends.
Vehicles? Paid for. Budgeted $50 a month covered yearly taxes and insurance for both. We drive the cheapest we can find that are still reliable. 1990 Buick is the way to go.
Vacation? Saved $150 a month, camped with the kids multiple times and took an adult only $1000 trip to Denver. Spent six nights in an Airbnb, hiked, relaxed, breakfasted at one delicious French Crepe restaurant, dinner at one 5-star restaurant, other meals from the grocery store.
Beautiful hike just the two of us! I thought I was suffering from severe altitude sickness for five days before taking a pregnancy test! Hello, Baby #4!
Other Gifts? This one was hard. When your kid gets invited to a birthday and begins to notice that other kid getting a bunch of presents when he had a perfectly happy birthday without the presents and now questions why he didn’t get a bunch of presents…. Our standard was to give a lovely hand-made card to the child offering a ONE DAY OF FUN for a playdate at our house. We would arrange afterward with the parents, we would pick up the kid, have special activities planned like a sprinkler or a trip to the park. Everyone had fun without feeling jilted.
Side Hustle? Yes! I took in sewing jobs and alterations for prom dresses, etc. Ben worked early mornings at another job.
Heart Change? Yes. God said, “I am Enough.”
You could take this action plan: Pay off $$ by a certain date. Don’t buy stuff. Don’t go anywhere. Don’t do anything. Work more.
{Haha, I’m dying with laughter over here. I’m of the generation that doesn’t know how to have a written conversation without emojis so this is a struggle for me. I’m laughing-with-all-the-tears.} That plan sounds terrible! That’s what we did, but it was way more fun than it sounds.
We didn’t buy a bunch of stuff because God helped us see that He was enough and to find contentment in Him. We didn’t go places without intention. We did lots of things that were free and affordable. We did have a zoo membership and a pool pass and packed lunches on days we went. We did spend hours at the park and invited friends over to play and grilled hotdogs and danced in sprinklers and listened to music really really loud. We did work more, quite a bit more with multiple side hustles, but God’s peace permeated our financial goals those two years.
Is this the face of a boy who wishes his parents spent more money on him? I see pure joy and childhood bliss.
Don’t be Discouraged!
If reading through our story has brought you more discouragement than hope, chin up! If getting out of debt is something you yearn for please please please take this up with God. Ask him to show you how, ask him for his peace and discipline. Perhaps you really can live on $20,000 for two years and bust it out! But perhaps you are in a place where that is not possible. I really do believe that if you listen to God telling you that He is Enough and lean into him, you will find peace and perhaps a few extra thousand dollars. I have a friend that pays the minimum on all the loans and then an extra $50. That’s a great start!
What about you?
How can I encourage you in your journey? What questions do you have that I can address? What would you like me to cover? Would you like to know actual numbers for our current budget?
I want to hear from you!
P.S. No really. I want to hear from you. Comment below and tell me what’s the craziest thing you ever bought on accident. Mine is face cream for $145 from a mall kiosk during year two. After reading thousands of words of my financial journey, can you believe I spent $145 on a tiny jar of lotion? I don’t know what came over me. Your turn!
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